Every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science — Code.org

by IndieGoGo

With the Hour of Code campaign, we hope to introduce 100 million students worldwide to one hour of computer science. Beyond that, we’ll help millions continue learning – either online, or in schools where we’ll establish permanent courses and train teachers. 90% of schools still don’t teach computer science. In the 21st century. Our schools teach kids how to dissect a frog and how weather works. Today, it’s equally fundamental to learn to “dissect an app,” or how the Internet works. Every young person deserves basic knowledge of how the world works around them and how to build technology that’s changing the world.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/an-hour-of-code-for-every-student/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/D9yJ_kKZrV8/

More Than Half of American Workers Believe a Skills Gap Exists but Does Not Apply to Them

by Udemy

Sixty-one percent of Americans believe that today’s workforce is plagued by a skills gap, but do not see themselves as part of the problem, according to new data released today. The Udemy Skills Gap Index, an independent survey commissioned by Udemy, the leading global marketplace for learning and teaching online, and conducted by ResearchNow, surveyed 1,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 65. The survey polled consumers to determine their thoughts, perceptions and attitudes toward not only the skills they believe they possess, but also how these skills impact their professional lives. The resulting data revealed that despite a perception among American workers that a skills gap exists, 95 percent consider themselves to be either qualified or overqualified for the positions that they personally hold.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-half-of-american-workers-believe-a-skills-gap-exists-but-does-not-apply-to-them-275426751.html

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Cornering a Missed Pocket of the Ed-Tech Market

by Julia Freeland, Entrepreneur

Pegged at an estimated $8 billion in 2013 by the Software & Information Industry Association, the education-technology market is reaching unprecedented heights. According to EdSurge, the ed-ech industry received more than $327 million in venture-capital investment in the second quarter of this year alone. Yet amid the boom in private investment and technology talent migrating into education, entrepreneurs don’t always know how new apps and tools will align with schools’ day-to-day needs. Technology companies would have a better chance of developing products that school systems would actually pay to use, if they had better insight into the market and knew what schools were trying to accomplish as they integrate technology, the variety of tools that schools are currently using and where schools’ demands remain unmet.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235795

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The Beginner’s Guide To Competitive Gaming In Schools

By Jason Cross, Edudemic

If you are thinking I am joking, the United States recently recognized League of Legends as an official sport so they could issue visas to players, just as they do for sports like the NBA. And yes, there are even fantasy leagues where you can put together teams of your favorite League of Legends competitors and earn points for your virtual team online. And with millions in prize money and sponsorships for players, more and more people are pursuing competitive gaming careers. You no longer need to be a programmer to get a job in games. You can now select from hundreds of related careers like announcer, PR representative or business development director.

http://www.edudemic.com/competitive-gaming-school-sports-programs/

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The Digital Lives of Teens: “If You Don’t Have a Plan for Them, They Will Have a Plan for You”

by Matt Levinson, Edutopia

For schools, the challenge is how to bring together kids’ “native” knowledge regarding technology and teachers’ pedagogical experience without entering into a tug-of-war battle that teachers will inevitably and invariably lose when technology is in the ring. A colleague of mine from many years ago gave me sage advice regarding working with middle schoolers: “If you don’t have a plan for them, they will have a plan for you.” There is no truer statement when it comes to deploying technology in schools. Teachers have to design learning experiences around challenging problems where the technology is a tool that needs to be used to solve the problem. If technology sits idly on the side, kids will go in their own direction, gravitating toward games and other “distractions,” and teachers will feel “gamed” by the kids. The kids will make their own plan.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-teens-have-a-plan-matt-levinson

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3D Pens in the Classroom

By Martha Slack, Edudemic

The recent 3D printing explosion on the educational market has left many educators wondering how they can afford to integrate this technology into the classroom. Most schools do not have the luxury of purchasing a 3D printer but still want to provide the experience for their students. 3D pens made their debut on Kickstarter this year as an affordable 3D printing option. After the initial investment of the pens, they are an incredibly affordable tool for classrooms. The pens allow students to illustrate – in 3D – concepts in math, history, art, design, and chemistry, giving them a tangible means to explore complex ideas.

http://www.edudemic.com/3d-pens-classroom/

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3 Ways to Get Faculty Up to Speed With Technology

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

When it comes to teaching with technology, or even teaching in general, most faculty could use a little support. To provide the resources, ideas and inspiration faculty need to become better instructors, higher education institutions typically create some form of Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), devoted to fostering teaching excellence across the board. But it’s not enough for these organizations to help individual instructors learn how to deliver their courses, engage students and manage their classrooms. These days, much of a CTL’s attention is directed to helping faculty evolve their instructional practices for a technology-laden learning environment — whether for online or hybrid courses; as part of active learning programs; or to better exploit the benefits of technical resources such as learning management systems. Here, three CTLs share best practices they’re perfecting to help faculty get up to speed with technology.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/06/04/3-ways-to-get-faculty-up-to-speed-with-technology.aspx

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‘Virtual’ summer school lets students learn at their own pace

BY MARSHA SILLS, the Advocate

The school system launched the virtual summer school program in 2012 after years without a summer academic option for students because of low enrollment in the past. As part of the program, students take online courses taught via lessons recorded by certified teachers. Students can pause and rewind the lessons as they need and move through the content at their own pace. The program began May 26, and during the first week, the students were required to report to the virtual learning center for their coursework. For the remainder of the program, only middle school students are required to report to the center, while high school students may complete their coursework at home or wherever they want to do their lessons, said Kellie LeBlanc, program supervisor. Students must return to the center to take tests, she said.

http://theadvocate.com/news/9317305-123/virtual-summer-school-lets-students

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Online: The only school they know

By Maureen Magee, UT San Diego

Online courses are popular with students who want to make up credits, take classes that aren’t available at their schools or take a break from regular classes. But more students are forgoing mainstream schools altogether as charters and school districts establish online options. The virtual offerings also appeal to traditional home-school families who increasingly rely on online courses. About 310,000 students in kindergarten through high school nationwide were enrolled in full-time online schools in the 2012-13 school year, a 24 percent increase from the previous year, according to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/27/online-students-graduation-san-diego/

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The pros and cons of online learning

by Della Bradshaw, Wai Kwen Chan, Charlotte Clarke, Financial Times

Just how much is online learning on the rise in executive education? asks Wai Kwen Chan. In 2011, 42 per cent of respondents to an FT poll of open-enrolment course participants said that none of the teaching and related assessments was conducted online. That figure stays the same in this year’s poll of more than 470 respondents.

Fifty-one per cent of those whose programmes included online elements said that these accounted for less than 25 per cent of the course. Some 80 per cent of respondents wanted online content in future courses.

The main benefits of online learning cited in the recent survey are flexibility, convenience, cost and time savings. The main drawbacks were a lack of interaction with other participants and teaching staff and fewer networking opportunities. Other concerns were quality of teaching, lack of learning support and the level of self-discipline required.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e8e9051a-cca2-11e3-ab99-00144feabdc0.html

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Predicting success and failure with student analytics

By Cynthia Karena, Kiama Lake (AU) Independent Times

Increasing digitisation of student records means predictive analytics is expected to transform teaching and become a key tool in learning more about students. Predictive analytics is a process in which data collected about the student – typically attendance, subjects taken, assessment – is used to understand learning patterns, identify skill gaps, predict performance and identify learning opportunities. Teachers and administrators have always analysed student data, but as more student records become digitised – for example, using a consistent online marking system school-wide – there are more opportunities for analysis. Digitised data is also quicker and easier to analyse.

http://www.kiamaindependent.com.au/story/2258418/predicting-success-and-failure-with-student-analytics/

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What the 26 Billion-Thing Internet of Things Portends for IT

By David Nagel, THE Journal

The rapid growth of interconnected devices making up the Internet of Things will wreak havoc on data security, storage, servers, networks and end user privacy, according to a new report. There will be 26 billion “things” making up the Internet of Things within six years, according to a report released by Gartner. The implications for IT are profound — in particular for data center operations. “IoT threatens to generate massive amounts of input data from sources that are globally distributed,” said Joe Skorupa, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, in a statement released to coincide with the report.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/03/18/what-the-26-billion-thing-internet-of-things-portends-for-it.aspx

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How To Use Google Voice In Education

By Jen Roberts, Edudemic

Education is about communication, but few educators are willing to hand out their personal mobile number. With Google Voice you don’t have to. When you go to Google.com/voice you can set up a new number with Google. It will ask you for a forwarding number. This must be an actual landline or mobile number in the US. (You can turn off the forwarding once you are set up.) With Google voice, incoming calls can forward to multiple numbers; say ring your home phone and mobile phone at the same time. Or you can turn off the forwarding and have all your calls go to Google Voice. All voicemails get transcribed and sent to your Gmail address. Text messages also go to your Gmail.

http://www.edudemic.com/google-voice-in-education/

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5 Ways To Do EdTech On A Shoestring Budget

By Dawn Casey-Rowe, Edudemic

The word “technology” often send shivers down the spine of the budget office, because it has the potential to be one of the biggest line items on the budget. It’s true, a school needs dollars for dongles to make it all work, but it doesn’t have to break the bank or get put on the back burner when competing choices include “leaky roof,” “broken heating system,” and a million other infrastructure expenses that pop up. Tech doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t have to go by the wayside. Technology is increasingly becoming personal, mobile, and affordable. Most connected people rely on smartphones and tablets rather than desktops and laptops. My smartphone is more powerful than my first computer. Because of this, it’s possible to integrate technology on a shoestring budget.

http://www.edudemic.com/edtech-on-a-shoestring-budget/

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